(Warrenton, Virginia) April 30, 2019 - The Virginia Association of Destination Marketing Organizations (VADMO), an association supporting destination marketing organizations (DMOs) and the development of tourism and travel professionals in Virginia, announced the winners of the 2018 VIRGO Awards at their 2019 Tourism Symposium held at The Virginian Hotel in Lynchburg, Virginia on April 28-30, 2019.


The 2018 competition incorporated categories which accurately reflect the type of cutting-edge promotional campaigns being showcased throughout Virginia. All entries represented projects, campaigns or a body of work completed between January 1 and December 31, 2018. The VIRGO Awards pay tribute to individuals, groups, businesses and destination marketing organizations that have significantly contributed to the Commonwealth of Virginia's economy through tourism promotion and development.


Theresa Earles, Tourism Development Manager with Suffolk Tourism, presented the VIRGO Awards on behalf of VADMO. Submissions were evaluated on the quality of the submission, economic efficiency, and the economic or community impact. The winners of the 2018 VIRGO Awards are listed below.
 

  • 2018 Virgo Award - Locally PouredAdvertising & Promotions – Smaller Budget Print: Discover Winchester for the Discover Winchester Print Campaign
  • Advertising & Promotions – Smaller Budget Combination: Shenandoah County Tourism & Economic Development for “This is Our Rush Hour DC Metro Takeover”
  • Advertising & Promotions – Larger Budget Combination: Visit Fairfax for “Cheers to Locally Poured Beer!”
  • Advertising & Promotions – Larger Budget Online and eMarketing: Chesapeake Tourism for promoting kudos to drive traffic to our new website
  • Advertising & Promotions – Larger Budget Interactive: Chesapeake Tourism for the Restaurant Week initiative
  • Advertising & Promotions – Smaller Budget Interactive: Smithfield & Isle of Wight CVB for “Crush Friday Video Smithfield”
  • Niche Tourism: Spotsylvania Tourism for the “Spotsy Arts Festival”
  • Regional Marketing Initiative: “Four Taps, Four Cities”, a Regional Marketing Initiative That Includes Newport News, Hampton, Smithfield & Isle of Wight County, and Williamsburg
  • DMO Team of the Year: Visit Prince William County
  • DMO Manager of the Year: Nicole Johnson, Tourism Director – Destination Bedford
  • Peer Selected “Best in Show” Award: Shenandoah County Tourism & Economic Development for “This is Our Rush Hour DC Metro Takeover”


About VADMO
The Virginia Association of Destination Marketing Organizations is a not-for-profit 501(c)(6) membership organization made up of destination marketing organizations, visitor bureaus, and the companies that support them. Since it started in 1978, the organization has been promoting professionalism within the Virginia tourism industry and has worked on behalf of its members to make sure that tourism and travel continue to be strong economic drivers in the Commonwealth’s economy. For more information about VADMO, please visit http://www.vadmo.org or contact the organization at +1 540-904-4710.

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